1. I guess they don't go down with the ship...

14. Why would they? The analogy is a false one

Goodness knows that having spent most of my life on a flight path for NAS Oceana near the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia Beach, I have no love for Navy jets! That said, if any one is to blame for this it is the Virginia Beach City Council which has permitted high density building right up to the edge of the air station despite the Navy's begging them not to do so over as long as I can remember.

Virginia Beach is bought and sold to the developers at the expense of the well being and safety of its citizens.

Ships are at sea. If they go down, they sink and rarely is there any likelihood of casualties except for those on board.

Planes fly over land and sea. If over sea, the likelihood of casualties other than those on the plane are insignificant. This is not so if flying over land, especially if that land is a highly populated resort area.

I know the area that the jet went down very well. Unless the pilot could have made it in the air for a few more seconds at jet speed where he would have been over the ocean, there is nothing BUT highly populated area for him to "aim" the plane--which I suspect he had no control, over.

Further, the jets automatically eject the pilots in case they are unconscious--again, unlike a ship.

Let's pray that there are no casualties and that the City Council of Virginia Beach and not the Navy or its pilots are held accountable as they should be! And this comes from someone who shakes her fist and screams at the jets as they fly over, hating the ear-splitting noise of their engines.

20. You sure know a lot for someone without credentials...

23. Actually, I do have an advanced degree from an R-1 university, rated among the top 25 in the nation,

not a for-profit university. However, I come from a military family and I spent most of my life living on one of the flight paths for NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach. I also dated several naval pilots, although I didn't marry one, and have been a friend and neighbor of many naval pilots. So, while I may not have whatever "credentials" that you feel I should have to post to this thread (which, by the way, most university degrees would not provide such credentials, anyway), I do feel qualified to post what I have posted. Further, your snarky comment was really not necessary; but if it made you feel somehow superior, then have at it!

15. Please be informed before you judge

As I stated above, having lived most of my life on the flight path for NAS Oceana, I HATE those jets and the noise that they make. However, I also know the area and there was no way to avoid hitting something given that the city council has sold its soul to the developers and has permitted high density building right up to the edge of the air station despite the Navy's begging them not to do so.

Further, I believe that the jet's eject the pilots automatically in case the pilots are unconscious. But even if they don't, I know from previous crashes in the city by Navy jets that the pilots do all they can to avoid hitting occupied spaces. This is simply a tragedy.

10. Because people have been exposed to too many movies

Where the hero stays with the dying plane, and somehow manages, despite hydraulic lines and electric wires being burned to a crisp, somehow steer the plane a couple of inches over the top of the apartment building and drops it into the ocean with his death being the only loss.

Most people don't realize that a pilot is supposed to, yes, do as much as they can, then point the plane in the right direction and get the hell out. The plane is expendable, the pilot, not so much.

18. PROTIP: If the plane is stalling out, then there's nothing that the pilots could do.

There's nothing for the control surfaces to push against when this happens; the plane is either mostly or entirely out of control. If this occurs at a low altitude, this is doubly true, since there is no chance for the plane to reorient and recover.